Butternut Squash Un-Risotto

The first question most people are going to ask is why is this a “un-risotto”? The answer is a risotto is creamy form of rice dish and this dish does not contain rice. Then why call it a risotto if it has no rice? It is because this dish simulates the texture and feel of a risotto. The resulting “un-risotto” is rich, creamy and oozy in texture. It feels so decadent; you’re almost surprised that it’s healthy! Did you know making risotto is a “labor of love”? Unlike Asian rice, it is not a rice dish that you can use a rice cooker or boil in the water. Risotto is made by first sautéing the rice grain in olive oil till it is tender. Then you have to stir and add stock to the mixture in small batches at a time. This technique can take a good 30-50min depending on the size of your batch. Wait! Come back! Don’t worry, didn’t I tell you that this is called a “Un-Risotto”? We are not going to be slaving over a hot stove stirring for “Who knows how long?”. This recipe should take 15min to make because we will use pre-cooked butternut squash and some leftover quinoa.

Ingredients:

3 cups of mashed butternut squash

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. onion flakes

1 cup of cooked quinoa

1-1.5 cups of chicken or vegetable broth for my vegan friends

Pink sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat up stick skillet over medium heat and warm up the mashed butternut squash.

Add 1 cup of the broth to the squash.

Mix in the broth with the butternutsquash, the garlic powder and the onion flake.

Stir the mixture until it is nice and smooth…almost like a creamy soup. (Yes, you can have this as a soup!)

Add the one cup of quinoa in the mixture and stir it well to separate out the quinoa. You won’t want huge chunks of quinoa clusters in this dish…its not pretty.

Cook through for another 2-3min.

At this point, if your “un-risotto” looks too dry, feel free to add in more broth (1/4 cup at a time.)